


Ice and Fire

by DecemberIceStar



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Character Death, F/M, Gen, One Shot, Pregnancy, Soulmates, one word prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-13
Updated: 2013-01-12
Packaged: 2017-11-18 14:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 3,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/562052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DecemberIceStar/pseuds/DecemberIceStar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Series of Iroh/Korra oneshots based off one word prompts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Penname: December Ice Star
> 
> Original or Derivative: Derivative (Legend of Korra)
> 
> Rating: Rating T
> 
> Pairing: General Iroh II/Korra
> 
> DISCLAIMER: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.
> 
> Prompt: Live
> 
> Spoiler: See you in the next life, Iroh.

Her hair was flying around her panicked face wildly. The Equalist clothes flapped around with the strong wind.

She was hanging from the air ship, her fall only stopped by the strong arm of the General of the United Forces. Said arm was dislocated and the Avatar could see drops of sweat forming underneath Iroh's inky black hair.

"Let go of me! You'll fall too!"

He gritted his teeth and tried once again to pull her back on. His shoulder gave in before he could so much as move an inch.

"I'm not letting you fall!"

It was ridiculous, Korra concluded. She had lost her bending, her body was tired and worn out, and she had been defeated by Amon, barely managing to escape with her life. She was a pretty crappy Avatar before and now? Well, now she was just pathetic. If she did plummet to her death, she would just be reborn into an Earth Kingdom kid, which hopefully would be a better Avatar than what she had been so far.

He, however, had only one life, was the Crown Prince and General of the United Forces. His shoulder was swollen horribly; burn marks ran along the length of his well-formed body. He still had his bending, something that had saved her plenty a time on the last three hours and could still make it out of there.

Not with her, that's for sure.

She twisted her head and saw a squad of Equalists heading towards them, crossing the length of the air ship quickly.

Korra made a decision. She was _not_ going to be the cause of his death. With that thought burning brightly behind her eyes, she swung her weight forward, allowing the momentum to throw her back and giving her the necessary impulse to reach him.

Or more precisely, his shoulder.

"Korra! No!"

Her feet made contact with his arm causing a ripple of pain to extend through his limb and his hand open involuntarily.

"NO!"

She saw him trying to throw himself after her but stopping when a kali-stick missed his face by an inch. He turned around and kicked one Equalist in the chest before she was too far away and couldn't see him anymore.

She spun around and saw the ocean coming towards her at alarming speed.

The words of her waterbending teacher came back at her.

_Always use your waterbending to soften the fall when you're falling from a great height. You may or may not survive a fall of 200 feet but chances are you'll break your own skull with your knee while falling. Be very careful Korra, you wouldn't be the first bender that dies because they misjudged the distance._

She wasn't sure how many feet she was falling, but she was damn sure it was more than 200 feet. She closed her eyes, opened her arms and returned to the origins of the Water Tribes.

_See you in the next life, Iroh._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are good friends. We are saving them the awkward hey-I-used-to-date-you hugs and my drunken speech would probably have the phrase 'I hope you die a slow and painful death' somewhere. So no, as a matter of fact we are wonderful friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penname: December Ice Star
> 
> Original or Derivative: Derivative (Legend of Korra)
> 
> Rating: Rating T
> 
> Pairing: General Iroh II/Korra
> 
> DISCLAIMER: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.
> 
> Prompt: Feast
> 
> Spoiler: We are good friends. We are saving them the awkward hey-I-used-to-date-you hugs and my drunken speech would probably have the phrase 'I hope you die a slow and painful death' somewhere. So no, as a matter of fact we are wonderful friends

Iroh opened the window and jumped through it, landing in the cornice and pulling himself into the ceiling with his arms. His formal robes made him feel hot and stuffy so he folded the sleeves up right before the elbow and unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt.

His head fell back and golden eyes took in the few stars that could be seen amongst the city lights.

He heard a rustle but didn't move, he already knew who it was.

"Wanna drink?"

He opened one eye and a pretty disheveled looking avatar flopped down next to him, a fire whiskey bottle hanging precariously from her thin, tan fingers. The elaborate curls she had been wearing at the beginning of the feast had fallen on her shoulders in a mess of waves and she looked like she had already drunk more than one bottle of fire whiskey.

"Yeah."

She handed him the bottle before laying back and resting her head in her hands. The General took a big gulp and felt the liquid burn a path down his throat. His coat would probably get dirty from sitting in the ceiling but he was way past the point of caring by then.

"We're bad friends. We should be down there, hugging them and making drunken speeches."

She scoffed. "We are good friends. We are saving them the awkward hey-I-used-to-date-you hugs and _my_ drunken speech would probably have the phrase 'I hope you die a slow and painful death' somewhere. So no, as a matter of fact we are wonderful friends."

He sighed and took another swig.

"How pathetic is it that they have been dating for three years and we still haven't been able to let go of them?"

"Very. I'm sure one of my past lives is rolling on his grave somewhere."

She extended one hand and the bottle was quickly placed in it. The amber substance made an arch when she poured it on her mouth and Iroh was vaguely impressed that she could swallow that much alcohol without coughing. Fire whiskey was not, after all, light.

When morning came, they found themselves spooned around each other her small hand tight around his. They both blushed and stammered, avoiding the other's gaze but he still helped her up with a gentlemanly flourish and she still took his hand with a blush.

Maybe, just maybe, they could be pathetic together.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mako, however, had far more mental images than needed of how Korra's night had gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penname: December Ice Star
> 
> Original or Derivative: Derivative (Legend of Korra)
> 
> Rating: Rating T
> 
> Pairing: General Iroh II/Korra
> 
> DISCLAIMER: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.
> 
> Prompt: Sore
> 
> Spoiler: Mako, however, had far more mental images than needed of how Korra's night had gone.

"Something's wrong with Korra."

Mako turned from Bolin and looked over at the young Avatar. His brother was right, she was walking funny. He cocked his head to the side; he knew she had had a date with the General last night, hardly something to leave her sore, considering her high stamina.

They had been dating steadily for a couple of months now and even though Mako hadn't been thrilled at their relationship it really wasn't his business and besides, she really _did_ look happy with him if the ridiculously red blushes she got whenever she received a gift from the crown prince were anything to go by. As a matter of fact, last night had been their three months anniversary.

Mhmmm… oh.

_Oh._

He felt blood flow to his cheeks alarmingly fast and barely managed to cover Bolin's mouth before he yelled at Korra something like 'Hey, you ok?'. Because she was okay, she was more than okay.

Mako, however, had far more mental images than needed of how Korra's night had gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sprawled on the ground, looking quite pathetic while trying to catch his breath, he questioned his motive for being there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penname: December Ice Star
> 
> Original or Derivative: Derivative (Legend of Korra)
> 
> Rating: Rating T
> 
> Pairing: General Iroh II/Korra
> 
> DISCLAIMER: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.
> 
> Prompt: Follow the rules
> 
> Spoiler: Sprawled on the ground, looking quite pathetic while trying to catch his breath, he questioned his motive for being there.

"C'me on, Iroh! If you can master the old style, this should be no problem."

Iroh frowned at her behind sweat-soaked hair and cursed the moment he asked Korra to show him the fire pro-bending technique. Turns out, that even though he was fast on his feet, he just couldn't manage to let go of years with private fire bending teachers that drilled every technique they knew into his young brain.

Sprawled on the ground, looking quite pathetic while trying to catch his breath, he questioned his motive for being there.

When he asked her to teach him, he thought he would catch the hang of it in no time, like he did with every technique he had ever learned before. He had also thought it would be a good excuse to spend more time with her without Tenzin suspecting anything. The airbender looked at him oddly whenever he went to the island to visit her so this was a neat way to be with her without supervision or interruption of any kind.

"Iroh! Don't just lie there! Get up, we're not done yet."

He sighed and let his head fall into the mat. This was just ridiculous.

"Iroooooooh! Move!"

He did get up bit instead of falling into the stance she had taught him, he spun towards her and kissed her full on the lips. She returned the kiss, but after a few moments, she pushed him off.

"We are not here to kiss, General." She mocked him with a lifted eyebrow. "Besides, I'm pretty sure it's against the rules to make-out here."

He smiled boldly.

"I've never been known for following the rules."

With that, he kissed her again.

This time, she didn't push him off.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He never tells her this though. So she leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penname: December Ice Star  
> Original or Derivative: Derivative (Legend of Korra)  
> Rating: Rating T  
> Pairing: General Iroh II/Korra  
> DISCLAIMER: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.  
> Prompt: I will wait – Mumford & Sons  
> Spoiler: He never tells her this though. So she leaves.

He knows she’s leaving.

She doesn’t deny it.

There are little clues that he picks up. The way she trains three hours with each element and finishes sweaty and unhappy. It takes him some time to figure out the expression on her face but when he does, the expression is longing.

He finds maps in her room and though she waves them off, he knows the preparations of an extremely long trip when he sees them.

So when she sits him down one day and tells him she’s leaving, he’s not surprised at all. Telling her he understands, is probably one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do. He does understand, he knows she’s the Avatar and with the threat of Amon gone, she has to continue her travels around the world. It all sounds very logical in his head but that doesn’t stop the thought that maybe he isn’t enough to make her stay.

He never tells her this though.

She tells him that she won’t be angry if he moves on. She doesn’t know how long she’ll be gone and she can’t ask him to stop his life just for her. He doesn’t tell her that his mind recoils in the thought of being with someone else; just that he’ll be here when she decides to come back.

So she leaves.

They’ve been dating for little over four months and he thinks it pretty pathetic that it hurts not being able to call her in the morning. They haven’t even been together that long but he misses her little gestures, the way she smiled at him, her slim arms wrapped around him.

He will wait.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe, just maybe, she didn’t have to hope anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penname: December Ice Star  
> Original or Derivative: Derivative (Legend of Korra)  
> Rating: Rating T  
> Pairing: General Iroh II/Korra  
> DISCLAIMER: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.  
> Prompt: Warning  
> Spoiler: Maybe, just maybe, she didn’t have to hope anymore.

Fire Lady Honoria considered herself a rational, calm person, yet she couldn’t help but worry for her eldest son’s happiness.

Marrying the crown prince and the Avatar had calmed the Earth Kingdom councilmen and they had stopped pestering her for explanations over her every move and decision. Many years had passed since the end of the Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation was still mistrusted and having the Avatar living there (keeping an eye) with the royal family was just perfect.

She knew the marriage was a good political and social move, for who didn’t love the Avatar? But Iroh was her son, a son that had a marriage based on nothing but politeness. It almost hurt her to see him sitting at dinner with Avatar Korra next to him, both careful to keep a respectful distance between them and addressing each other as ‘my lord’ or ‘my lady’. Honoria knew they at least slept on the same room but that didn’t really mean anything.

She had told her son he didn’t have to do it, didn’t have to marry someone he didn’t love but he just answered that he would do his duty and asked her to never mention it again, for he could not know how he would react. She took the warning for what it was and dropped the subject.

Avatar Korra was brash and tough and often rude but the Fire Lady just knew that if they opened more to each other their love, while not passionate would at least bring them some measure of happiness in the coming years.

She could only hope that Korra would forget that fire bender she left at Republic City and that Iroh would get over the earth bender in the United Forces. One could only hope.

So when she entered their rooms with the intention of taking a walk with Korra in the garden, she was pleasantly surprised to find them curled around each other on the couch in their resting room, his son’s hand resting over his wife’s swollen belly and the Avatar’s face buried in his neck with a soft smile on her tanned lips.

Honoria stood by the door, shocked until a wide smile covered her face and she quietly walked out of the room, closing the door behind her and making a little victory dance in the hallway. Coughing twice, she rearranged her clothes and hair and left to inform the servants not to bother her son for the rest of the day.

Maybe, just maybe, she didn’t have to hope anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I called Honoria because that name does exist in my country and it sounds better for me than Honora.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He is not her, but Iroh likes to think that she did return to him, just not on the way he expected her to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penname: December Ice Star  
> Original or Derivative: Derivative (Legend of Korra)  
> Rating: Rating T  
> Pairing: General Iroh II/Korra  
> DISCLAIMER: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.  
> Prompt: Return  
> Spoiler: He is not her, but Iroh likes to think that she did return to him, just not on the way he expected her to.

He’s tiny, with big green eyes and black, inky hair and Iroh pushes the _if they can have their happy ending, why couldn’t we?_ back to a little corner of his mind in which he locks such thoughts.

His name is Lao and he has his father’s ease for making friends and his mother’s stunning smile. The White Lotus offers Lao the Avatar toys, like they do with all the babies born on the week after _her_ death.

Iroh begins to think the gods enjoy making him suffer when his godson turns out to be the Avatar. Oh, that’s just rich. He was honestly hoping to excuse his way out of that awful “request” that his grandfather sent him, asking him to train the new Avatar in fire bending. But now? Now he’d be lucky if he managed to avoid it for a couple of years.

He leaves in the middle of the night when Lao is one, still too young to remember him. His ship welcomes him back and given the fact that he’s the crown prince, he can very well afford to quit the army and just wander around the world, which is precisely what he does for ten years, until Grandfather Zuko gets sick and wants to see his grandson one more time.

Of course, his beloved mother just so happens to forget that the Avatar is in the palace as well, about to begin his fire bending training, oh the joy. Iroh honestly thought he would have finished with fire bending by now, considering it’s the first elements he has to learn, but Bolin and Asami decided not to inform him of his Avatar status until he turned eleven.

The White Lotus decided that Lao would learn the elements by going to the Nation, Kingdom, Tribe and whatnot that the element was originally from, so he could get experience in a controlled environment without living his whole life hidden like the previous Avatar.

And so Iroh goes to visit his Grandfather, who hits him in the head for being such a “monkey-headed grandson” and not visiting in ten years. He then proceeds to thank him for volunteering to train Lao and glares at him until he accepts. Grandfather has a cough, hardly something life threatening but Iroh lets it go.

 Iroh finds himself being the reluctant teacher of an overactive eleven year old boy that breaks his heart every time he smiles because goddamit, he shouldn’t look so much like someone he isn’t even related to!

But Lao looks so much like Korra. There is a certain look in his eyes that makes Iroh think of dusky skin, loud laughs and fire whiskey. And sometimes, when Lao pretends to be sorry for something, the former admiral can almost hear her voice in the wind.

He is not her, but Iroh likes to think that she did return to him, just not on the way he expected her to.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six days after Korra was born, on the exact moment her hand made contact with Avatar Kuruk’s childhood toy, a word appeared on her finger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penname: December Ice Star  
> Original or Derivative: Derivative (Legend of Korra)  
> Rating: Rating T  
> Pairing: General Iroh II/Korra  
> DISCLAIMER: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.  
> Prompt: Soul Mate  
> Spoiler: Six days after Korra was born, on the exact moment her hand made contact with Avatar Kuruk’s childhood toy, a word appeared on her finger.

Six days after Korra was born, on the exact moment her hand made contact with Avatar Kuruk’s childhood toy, a word appeared on her finger.

It wasn’t really a word; it was a blurry mess on the ring finger of her left hand.

The word would eventually clear into a name, the name of her soul mate. It could become clear in a year, in her adolescence, in her late thirties, when she was gray with age; there wasn’t really a specific moment. Each Avatar had the engraving on her or his finger, often hidden by a ring or bandage of some kind. It was unsafe for something as important as the Avatar’s soul mate’s name to be common knowledge. Very few knew it and if it cleared when the Avatar was too young to hide it from prying eyes themselves the parents would put a ring on the child’s finger and explain it to him when he was informed of his status.

For safety reasons, all Avatars hid their ring finger so no one ever knew exactly when did the name cleared. One would think that this was a good thing, a gift from the Spirit World to the Avatars, giving them the name of their soul mate. It usually was, but not always. Avatar Huang, for example had the name cleared on his wedding day, and it was the name of the bride’s best friend. He married anyway but his affair with the best friend was well known across the world. Or Avatar Ming, that killed her soul mate without knowing while trying to protect the Fire Nation from the Earth Kingdom. She didn’t know that the inferno she had unleashed on their boats had killed him, until she visited the Spirit World years later and proceeded to kill herself. And some other Avatars, never found them, a few even had their names cleared a day or two before dying in some Spirit World weird joke.

So it was both a curse and a blessing that seventeen-year-old-Avatar Korra had the name _Iroh_ firmly engraved on her finger. It cleared when she was finally allowed to begin air bending training. She never thought about it, apart from the fleeting thought that it was a Fire Nation name. She covered it with an ivory ring; a family heirloom carved with tribal symbols and thought nothing more of it.

She made her way to Republic City, met Bolin and Mako, fought Amon and studied air bending without even sparing a thought in the name hidden behind the pale band. She allowed herself to fall in love with Mako, because really, she might never meet this Iroh. Of course, General _Iroh_ then decided to appear in her life in some twist of fate. She was polite to him, of course, and looked at him from the corner of her eye, but tried to crush the hope that was blooming deep inside her.

Iroh, while not a common name, had become popular since Iroh I, the uncle of the famed Fire Bender Zuko had died, so it really didn’t meant anything, she convinced herself. And if his smile left her a little bit breathless and the mischievous glint on his amber-colored eyes brought a smile to her face, well, he was handsome and she was seventeen, of course she’s going to notice.

She defeated Amon and lost her bending in the process. She sobbed and cried and screamed, destroyed many innocent trees before accepting her fate. What kind of self-respecting Avatar, mastered only _one_ element?

There was nothing she could do about it, Master Katara had said so and suggested for her to retire to Republic City for a while, to try and get back on her feet, something that Korra accepted.

Mako and Bolin didn’t quite know how to talk to her, walking on glass around her and trying their best to treat her like a three year old. Asami had never been exactly a friend and she was very shaken herself trying to cope with Hiroshi’s betrayal.

The General was the only one to treat her exactly the same, even throwing a joke here and there, and teaching her some “Royal Family Secret Moves”. He was nice and formal and so damn honorable. He told her he was on temporary leave to recover from his wounds, an obvious lie and one Korra was in no hurry to call him out on. Sparring with only air bending became an interesting affair, one only Iroh took her on, while the brothers seemed to shrink back from anything that had to do with bending the elements the Water Tribe girl once mastered against her. Iroh, however, had no such qualms.

They became close and when he had to go back to active duty, no longer being able to keep up his farce of being hurt, they sent each other long letters, detailing their days and comparing new skills. Whenever he was on leave, he would make his way to Republic City, often surprising Korra with air bending manuscripts or curious trinkets.

So when, after three years of dancing around each other, he asked her out, she surprised absolutely no one by accepting. She did surprised some announcing her wedding only a year after they began dating, and surprised her fiancé even more when she removed her ring to put on the one he offered and showed him his name burned in the soft tanned skin.

The love story of Avatar Korra and Prince Iroh was told to many other Avatars. The story of how, despite having only air at her command, she kept the peace for the one hundred three years she lived and Prince Iroh gave up the title of prince to be able to travel with her around the world to keep said peace, as well as the three children they had, three boys, all great benders that fought as commanders in the Desert War, but that is a story for another time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Iroh! He’s a well-respected, married man that-” “Can clearly enjoy a younger woman on a tight dress.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penname: December Ice Star
> 
> Original or Derivative: Derivative (Legend of Korra)
> 
> Rating: Rating T
> 
> Pairing: General Iroh II/Korra
> 
> DISCLAIMER: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.
> 
> Prompt: Sneaky
> 
> Spoiler: “Iroh! He’s a well-respected, married man that-” “Can clearly enjoy a younger woman on a tight dress.”

He spun her around, her long dark blue dress flapping around her. Strong arms caught her and the couple began swaying to the music again.

“Please remind me to thank Asami for taking you dress shopping.”

Her smile was a shock of white teeth against chocolate skin. “Will do.”

“Though the other General enjoyed it a little too much.”

“Iroh, I’m the Avatar, I’m sure that’s the only reason for his staring.”

He lifted an eyebrow.

“Korra, I’m a man and I can tell you, chances are he didn’t even listen when I introduced you as the Avatar. He was too busy staring at your boo-”

Korra punched him playfully on the shoulder as she interrupted him.

“Iroh! He’s a well-respected, married man that-”

“Can clearly enjoy a younger woman on a tight dress. On second thought, remind me to tell Asami _not_ to take dress shopping whenever we there is a United Forces diner.”

 

 


End file.
